Texas Border Business
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Rio Grande Valley FC (6-8-10) faced rival San Antonio FC (13-4-7) at Toyota Field for the 24th edition of the South Texas Derby. The home side was triumphant as they locked in a comeback 1-2 result to continue their top of the standing position battle, RGV FC dropped three important road points.
Rio Grande Valley opened the scoreboard at the 11-minute mark with a well-played one-two touch approach in the box as Christiano Francois sent a perfectly placed ball behind the defensive line to find a closing Ian Cerro, the Argentinian forward then sent a rifling shot leaving Jordan Farr flatfooted to make it 1-0 in favor of the visiting side. The goal was his first ever with the club and in the league.
San Antonio FC answered quickly with a goal of their own inside the 13th minute, Fabian Garcia sent an assist to Santiago Patino who tapped the ball into the net right in front of the goal in traffic, making the match even at 1-1 as the derby heated up.
Rida Zouhir took matters into his own hands as he dribbled his way into the box and managed enough space to send a shot into the net past a challenging Tyler Deric, making it 1-2 in favor of the home side as they claimed the lead at the 29th minute.
Nothing doing in the second half as both teams battled it out for 50 minutes, with added time as San Antonio avoided a comeback surge from RGV who were reluctant in the second half, sending six shots, two on target in their effort to try an equalizer late.
Next up for RGV FC is a home meeting in three days-time at H-E-B Park with Phoenix Rising FC as the playoff push intensifies after a dropped three points this week.
